Monday, February 13, 2006

Eggless Salad Sandwich

My goodness, I must have at least a dozen recipes for eggless tofu salad -- it's in almost every vegan cookbook I own. All the recipes were similar, so I settled on Deborah Madison's version in This Can't Be Tofu!, mostly because it includes capers, which shmoo loves, and the fresh herbs and touch of paprika sounded good. I spread the eggless salad on white bread with a thin layer of Vegenaise, and packed it with organic apple slices, baby carrots, and an Odwalla Chocolate Chip Peanut Nourishing Food Bar.Verdict: I like giving shmoo these Odwalla bars; they're not too sweet and they're even enriched with calcium. It's nice to see more nondairy sources of calcium springing up all the time. I don't think the sandwich will be a returning favorite, though; he finished less than half. 3 stars.

Have you tried Cliff ZBars? Our guys like the bars and we like the company (organic ingredients, big into sustainability, and so on). The bars follow California's new helathy kids snacks guidelines, are whole grain, and are fortified with Calcium.

I've had many of the vegan bars--Clif (original), Clif Luna, Clif Zbar, Odwalla bars. I think they're all pretty filling. Looking at Schmoo's lunch, I'd have been full without even touching the sandwich. Jennifer, are you sure lil Schmoo didn't like the sandwich, or was he possibly full instead?

Hi, Paula! Actually, shmoo told me he "didn't care for it" and that it was "too sour" (he says that a lot about things he doesn't like -- he must have a sensitive sourometer). My husband and I ate the rest on toast with some sliced avocado here at home and we *loved* it. But you're right, the bars are filling, too, so at least I didn't feel too bad about the unfinished sandwich.

One thing that's percolated around in my subconscious is sending shmoo to school with untried foods, what happens if he just hates something, he doesn't get enough to eat.. Maybe there should be a dry run at home for new things..

Actually, freshman year, the little dining hall/store (called Eddie's for some unknown reason) sold Odwalla Bars, and they, along with the Odwalla juice were one of the few things I actually enjoyed. Of course, like all good things, they quit stocking them later in the year >_

There is a local Oregon company that makes the BEST eggless egg salad. Here's their link:

http://www.tobysfamilyfoods.com/

They have a vegan and non-vegan line. I have tried and tried to make mine resemble theirs, but I can't even come close. If you ever get a chance to buy some, I recommend the regular lite (vegan, of course) version they have just renamed Classic Lemon Dill. It is fantastic! (But don't even try the new fancy-shmancy flavors....sometimes you just shouldn't mess with a good thing.)

I have no interest in or intention of moving from this area, but even if I did Toby's would keep me from moving away from here. Gotta have my Toby's!

I agree with you about Toby's. I noticed some of their new flavors recently at the market and bought the martini olive variety thinking it would be good. Yuck! I wound up throwing it away it was so bad.

Oh, I just love those little Odwalla bars, too! My favorite are the carrot-raisin variety, but my grocery store seems to have stopped stocking them... All I can find are the peanutbutter and "berries go-mega." Do you have any idea if they've dropped the flavor, or if my Shaw's is just being wonky? (Which is very possible.)

I think the eggless salad looks good...actually the whole lunch does! Well, I would rather have those brussel sprouts you got me addicted to now than the carrots. I agree with others though those bars can be really filling and that does look like a lot of apple. Jane

Hi, Gramarama! Yes, I tucked an ice pack into his insulated case. I use an ice pack for lunches that are best kept cold (I would have worried about the tofu and Vegenaise if it weren't cold), a thermos to keep things piping hot, and just the insulated lunch case when things don't need to be kept cold or taste best at room temperature.

Hi, Hannah! They still list the carrot flavor on their website, so I think they're still making them.

I have to agree with some of the people above and say that the one time I had a Clif bar it was awful. It wasn't a z-bar though, so maybe I'm missing out on the good stuff. I really don't want a bar that just tasted like some brown rice stuck together, though.